At present, almost all the trades
conducted at the three stock exchanges in Pakistan are settled in a paperless
environment. Therefore, it may be said that the objective for which Central
Depository Company of Pakistan (CDC) was established has been achieved.

At present, more than 50,000 investor
accounts are being maintained with the CDC. There is a general perception that
retail investors have taken an exit from equities market but the fact is that
the number of accounts has increased since 2008. However, the number has
remained low due to very smaller investor base in Pakistan.

The surge in trading volumes that
happened in mid 2000s was managed efficiently by CDC. The company also
transformed the cumbersome process of subscribing for physical shares at the
time of IPOs into a convenient, hassle free and cost effective process. Thereby,
now investors who opted for scripless securities get the subscribed shares
deposited in their CDC accounts being ready for trade as soon as the allotment
is completed by the issuer.

CDC's contribution in the development
of the capital market has been enormous. Since the commencement of business
nearly 15 years ago, CDC has launched a number of services that have completely
changed the landscape of the market, giving Pakistan a prominent presence on the
capital market map of the world. In fact, CDC is referred to as the backbone of
Pakistan's capital market.

Cognizant of the needs of the market
and its inherent strength, CDC has launched share registrar services. The
essence of the effort is to change the attitude with respect to service to
shareholders thereby cultivating more investors and encouraging them to actively
participate in the market activities. Factors that encourage issuers to select
CDC's share registrar services include due attention to the needs of the issuers
and the shareholders. Other benefits include qualified and trained staff, toll
free call center, and branch network in all major cities. More importantly, the
credibility that CDC's brand name carries assures issuers of CDC's commitment to
the business and its improvement.

There has been a sea change in the
workings of the capital market since CDC became operational in 1997. Development
of the Pakistani capital market is one of the core aims of CDC and it has played
a vital role in transformation to paperless environment. Processes that were
spread over weeks or even months have been reduced to a mere click. It is
heartening to note that Pakistan capital market is as advanced as any other
market in the region on the basis of infrastructure and capacity.

However, CDC management still believes
that there are areas, which are hampering the pace of progress and require
improvement. One such area is balloters/share registrar/transfer agent (RTA)
services, which are some of the most important services required by a capital
market in any country or region. Belonging to a sector of secondary importance,
these services reflected a huge gap between the requirements of issuers and
their shareholders and the services being delivered by the service providers.

Realizing the need for services that
are beneficial for both issuers and shareholders on the lines of universal best
practices, CDC acted proactively and launched share registrar services in 2008
as a composite package that not only serves the best interest of issuers but
also provides maximum comfort to their shareholders that too in market
competitive cost.

Perhaps, it is now time to change
industry's mindset towards the significance of shareholders in the market. The
services and the treatment shareholders desire from a share registrar can play a
vital role in revitalizing their trust. Therefore, issuers should choose the RTA
services that provide to shareholders easy access, timely response of their
queries, friendly environment and hassle free dealings. Such consciousness will
go a long way in promoting investment culture in the country.

Apart from providing traditional RTA
and balloting facilities, CDC's registrar services come with added features that
have been previously ignored by other RTA service providers. The benchmarking
features of CDC share registrar services (SRS) include

CUSTOMER SERVICES

CDC's customer support services are
supported by state-of-the-art customer convenient system, (CCS) which includes a
highly equipped call centre facility and efficient complaint management system.
This enables the customer support staff to track and resolve issues faced by
shareholders located throughout Pakistan and abroad as well. The toll free
number facilitates the shareholders to register their queries/complaints or get
an update on their previously registered queries.

BUSINESS CONTINUITY

CDC is among the first few Pakistani
companies that have established a comprehensive business continuity program (BCP).
The program is supported by backup sites and disaster recovery capabilities to
ensure continuity of service to clients and security of their information.
Periodic drills are conducted to ensure seamless efficiency of the program.

SHARE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM & IT SUPPORT

CDC boasts one of the most
sophisticated IT infrastructures in Pakistan, which is backed by an in-house IT
department. Keeping in mind the issues and scenarios shareholders may face, a
share accounting system with an exclusive authority and security management
system and workflow components have been developed to guarantee efficient
registrar services.

PROFESSIONALISM & COMPLIANCE

To assist issuers and their
shareholders, CDC has employed highly professional, qualified and experienced
personnel. CDC share registrar services are also supported by independent Legal
and internal audit functions, which ensure statutory and regulatory compliance
on a day-to-day basis.

BRANCH NETWORK

To facilitate shareholders in all major
cities of Pakistan, CDC has a countrywide branch network covering Karachi,
Lahore, and Islamabad. CDC offices have vast public dealing areas, pleasant
office environment, and queue management system. Each branch is equipped with a
computerized mailing system, which ensures efficient communication with the
shareholders. The shareholders have the convenience to walk into our branch
network where registrar counters with dedicated staff are available.

CDC has gone a long way since starting
CDC share registrar services in 2008 and has become a sizeable player of this
industry. Its clientele today includes some of the major corporations of
Pakistan and it is confident that considering the incremental value, the service
is being offered at a very discounted and competitive price, and bound to be the
leading service in times to come.